The McMonigle Team is toasted by a friend during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show, “Real Estate Wars,” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. From left, Hoda Hajirnia and Hunter Fedden; from right, Drew D’Angelo, Leo Goldschwartz and John McMonigle. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Relegance Group cast members, from left, Kylie McCollough, Kacey Taormina, Jojo Romeo, Spyro Kemble and Eliisa Stowell. The red carpet event for the Bravo TV reality show was held at Seven-Degrees in Laguna Beach on Mon., Oct. 2. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Cutouts of McMonigle Team cast members for a photo booth during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show, “Real Estate Wars,” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Kylie McCollough, Spyro Kemble and Jojo Romeo, from left, at their red carpet event at Seven-Degrees. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

John McMonigle thanks guests during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show, “Real Estate Wars,” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Hugs, high heels, and little black dresses glamorized a red carpet premiere of “Real Estate Wars” held at Seven-Degrees in Laguna Beach on Mon., Oct. 2. The reality show about Orange County real estate agents airs Thurs., Oct. 5. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Hoda Hajirnia and Drew D’Angelo during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show, “Real Estate Wars,” about Orange County agents at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Spyro Kemble shows off his spiked Louboutins at a “Real Estate Wars” premiere party held at Seven-Degrees in Laguna Beach on Mon., Oct. 2. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“Real Estate Wars” cast members, from left, Kylie McCollough, Kacey Taormina, Jojo Romeo, Spyro Kemble and Eliisa Stowell at their premiere party for the new Bravo TV reality show, held at Seven-Degrees in Laguna Beach on Mon., Oct. 2. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

John McMonigle, right, introduces his team, from left, Hunter Fedden, Leo Goldschwartz, Hoda Hajirnia and Drew D’Angelo during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show “Real Estate Wars” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Agents and other viewers watch the premiere of “Real Estate Wars” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Hoda Hajirnia poses with a cutout of herself for a photo booth during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show, “Real Estate Wars” about Orange County agents, shown at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

Drew D’Angelo poses with his family during a premiere showing of the new Bravo TV show “Real Estate Wars” at the Port Theater in Newport Beach on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)

A TV show that peeks into multimillion-dollar homes alone would be “very, very boring,” says Orange County luxury real estate agent Spyro Kemble.

A self-described “peacock” who wields Montecristo cigars and struts around in spike-covered Christian Louboutin loafers, Kemble is one of the stars of Bravo TV’s new reality show, “Real Estate Wars,” premiering Thursday, Oct. 5.

“We have characters you’ll love or hate,” he promises.

A new twist on Bravo’s successful “Million Dollar Listing” franchise, “Real Estate Wars” ratchets up the heat on professional rivalries.

The show capitalizes on the real-life bad blood between two aggressive agents, John McMonigle and Jojo Romeo, who once worked together. Even though she was among his top performers, McMonigle says, he fired her because she seethed negativity and undermined him. She says she couldn’t stomach his narcissism and left.

“Jojo is a hot mess,” McMonigle says. “She just can’t control her emotions.”

“He’s like an infestation that never goes away,” Romeo says.

The show diverges from the “Million Dollar Listing” formula by using a team vs. team approach rather than focusing on a few characters. On “Real Estate Wars,” 10 agents are split into two sides, with McMonigle and Romeo on opposite teams, ostensibly fighting over wealthy clients and eye-candy properties.

The show puts a spotlight on a swath of Orange County’s high-end housing market.

“Orange County is paradise on steroids,” says Kylie McCollough, an agent and cast member. “The bigger car, the bigger house, the younger wife … And it’s what feeds our industry.”

Of course, after years of reality TV drama – or what a New York Times story once pegged “faux drama” – viewers may not buy all the bickering. And on “Real Estate Wars,” the two factions – Relegance Group and The McMonigle Team – are pseudonyms, not brokerages.

But that’s entertainment.

Some of the cast members have hired their own public relations reps, and intense preening and gym workouts appear to be de rigueur.

Kemble, 60, who can be seen shirtless on Instagram, once worked as a private trainer and more recently brought a Bravo camera crew along to a Botox appointment. McCollough, a 38-year-old wife and mother, has been a bikini-clad, fitness competitor. Romeo, with three ex-husbands and five children, wears tight dresses and belies her 49 years.

Cast members hope to gain exposure and listings, following in the footsteps of agents on other real estate reality shows who have become national celebrities.

“I’d like to have this kind of as an ace in your pocket,” says cast member Drew D’Angelo. “If a client Googles you, it pops up and it’s instant credibility.”

Not all high-end agents and brokers share that view. Many, along with their affluent clients, prefer to keep their business private.

“There’s a lot of people out there now coming out and talking bad about the show — that it’s going to be horrible for our careers,” says cast member Leo Goldschwartz. “Whenever you’re climbing, there’s always going to be somebody pulling you down.”

As McCollough sees the show, “It’s an opportunity to showcase women in business. We’re not fighting for a husband or fighting with our friends.”

In one scene, he takes his bride-to-be to see a waterfront fixer-upper on Lido Isle that he’d like to buy. It’s priced at just under $5 million. She looks reluctant, but he persuades her it’s the right move for them and she appears to come around.

“In real estate, it’s all about the spin,” John McMonigle says into the camera. “You want to help your clients fall in love with the property, even if it’s not ideal.”

Marilyn Kalfus covers news, issues, and trends for The Orange County Register's award-winning Sunday Real Estate section, which in 2015 and 2017 snagged the top prize for best U.S. newspaper real estate section from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. She also writes stories, edits photos and puts together slideshows for our popular Hot Homes feature about iconic, big-ticket and unusual properties on the market. On weekends, she edits police, breaking news and general assignment reporters.